Advantages

Disadvantages

A great way to get yourself physically and mentally fir whilst arning a certificate and its free !

I came across the Get Fit For Life course whilst I was looking for a distance learning course.

I have studies with The Open University which I found very rewarding and as I have young children going to a red brick college or university just is not possible right now. Having finished my OU course and waiting for a new one to begin, I went in search for another course to fill my time, that's how I found Fit For Life.

I had entered health courses into the search engine and it came up with a website showing this course, I had a read through the information and found that it is free to do, so I thought why not and I sent an e-mail asking how to enrol.

I quickly received a reply from the course facilitators who asked for a postal address to send me the enrolment forms. Within a couple of days I had my forms; they were very simple and asked for my basic information such as name address and date of birth. I was also sent a short health questionnaire to complete to ensure I was suitable for the course as those with heart problems and serious back injuries are not able to take part in the course without the written consent of their GP.

The Fit For Life course is available free to all adults and is run through Loughborough College. Having sent all my registration forms I received my learning pack which consisted of 3 work books and 3 assignment papers. A few days later I received a telephone call from my tutor. We chatted about the course and I had the opportunity to ask any questions. The course was pretty straight forward so I did not have many questions to ask.

My tutor informed me that students who live within travelling distance from Loughborough College have the opportunity to attend free fitness screening, as I live too far away I was sent a form to help me assess my own fitness levels, this included heart rate when doing activities and such like - I had my partner do this with me so the results could be accurately recorded. At the end of the course you can carry out the tests again and see if there has been an improvement.

There are also various opportunities to attend fitness sessions throughout the course, for examples learning how to exercise safely, I was unable to attend any of these but the workbook was very good at teaching me what I needed to know.

The course is divided into 3 sections. Each section has a workbook and an assignment paper. You worth through one workbook at a time, following this you complete your assignment paper and send it off to your tutor for marking. I will now talk about each section of the course separately....

Workbook 1 is Physical Activity and Health - In this work book you will learn about the body and the different muscles. You will learn how to exercise safely and effectively and learn how to warm up and cool down. The work book teaches you what parts of the body different exercises benefit and how to make the most of your exercise. There are many little activities throughout the work book however these are not marked, they are used to help you plan for your assignment. By the end of the work book you will have devised your own exercise routines and how to fit them into your week. The assignment consists of multiple choice questions and then there are sections where you write your exercise plan and you go on to complete a diary of your exercise, you enter the days you did the routine you devised and include any extra exercise such as swimming, dog walking or an exercise video. Each time you exercise you also write how you feel physically and emotionally. You keep your work book and you send the assignment to your tutor. Along with your assignment you will need to send a witness testimony from someone who has watched you complete the routine you devised.

Workbook 2 is Nutrition and Weight Management - In this workbook you will learn about the food groups and how they affect your body. You will work through to develop your own healthy eating plan and how to make small changes so you can slowly work yourself into healthy eating. I found this the most helpful workbook as I do have trouble with sticking to diets, however this work book does not encourage you to diet, it encourages you to eat healthily, which includes having some nice treats. You will learn how to have suitable portions and you will learn how different foods impact on your body and weight. Your assignment will again be multiple choice and you will include information about the small changes you make to your diet weekly until eventually you are eating a well balanced healthy diet. In your assignment paper you will include a food diary and you will continue on from workbook 1 and include your physical activity.

Workbook 3 Stress Management - This for me was the most difficult part of the course. In this workbook you will learn to identify the things in your life which may cause you stress and how to combat these triggers. You also learn about good stress and bad stress, for example, it is healthy for you to be nervous and apprehensive if something new and unknown is going to happen, but it is not good for you to feel constantly stressed and unhappy. You will work out what you can do to reduce your stress levels and implement this, you will learn to fit stress relieving activities into your day and keep a record of these and see how your mood can improve. You will learn how to plan your time as this can help you avoid stress. Again you will complete an assignment at the end of this workbook and send it to your tutor for marking, you will continue a journal of your exercise and healthy eating and include stress management, and by the end you should feel happier and healthier in all 3 aspects of your life.

I found this course to be very interesting an helpful, it has helped me to make small changes to my life style and I now realised that it is not enough to go on a diet or exercise profusely I need to make little gradual changes in all 3 areas of my health.

Not only have I gained a nationally recognised qualification but I also feel much better in myself and I am so glad I enrolled on this course.

The course is free to everyone so there is no reason not to sign up and start making important lifestyle changes for a happier healthier you!

To find out more about Get Fit For Life, e-mail getfitforlife@loucoll.ac.uk